Committee for the Abolition of Illegitimate Debt

Three NGO in Court against a vulture fund Vulture funds
Vulture fund Investment funds who buy, on the secondary markets and at a significant discount, bonds once emitted by countries that are having repayment difficulties, from investors who prefer to cut their losses and take what price they can get in order to unload the risk from their books. The Vulture Funds then pursue the issuing country for the full amount of the debt they have purchased, not hesitating to seek decisions before, usually, British or US courts where the law is favourable to creditors. - Press Conference 15^th June 2016

Who:
The Belgian coalition of French-speaking development NGOs, CNCD-11.11.11, its Flemish sister organisation 11.11.11, and the Committee for the abolition of illegitimate debt (CADTM) engage in a battle at the Belgian Constitutional Court against the vulture fund NML Capital Ltd.
What: The three organisations intervene in Court, side-by-side with the Belgian state.

Why:
To defend a Belgian law of 2015 limiting the activities of vulture funds. Vulture funds are specialized investment funds Investment fund
Investment funds Private equity investment funds (sometimes called ’mutual funds’ seek to invest in companies according to certain criteria; of which they most often are specialized: capital-risk, capital development funds, leveraged buy-out (LBO), which reflect the different levels of the company’s maturity. that profit Profit The positive gain yielded from a company’s activity. Net profit is profit after tax. Distributable profit is the part of the net profit which can be distributed to the shareholders. from speculation on distressed countries’ sovereign debt Sovereign debt Government debts or debts guaranteed by the government. . With this law, Belgium is pioneering international legal action against vulture funds.

This law is being challenged by NML Capital Ltd. at the Belgian Constitutional Court since March. NML Capital Ltd. is a subsidiary of the “Elliott Management Corporation” group, led by the billionaire Paul Singer.
In a context of increasing public debt crisis, this Belgian law is worth fighting for. The Belgian example could also serve as a source of inspiration for other countries’ legislation.

In order to know more about this litigation, the three organisations invite you to a press conference, Wednesday 15^th of June, 10h30 am at the « Press Club Brussels ».

Speakers:
 Arnaud Zacharie, Secretary General of CNCD-11.11.11
 Bogdan Vanden Berghe, Secretary General of 11.11.11
 Renaud Vivien, Co-Secretary General of CADTM Belgique.
 Olivier Stein, solicitor, Progress Lawyers Network.

Introduction speeches will be in French and Dutch. Speakers will be happy to answer questions in English.

When:
15^th of June, 10H30 AM.

Where:
Press Club (Conference Hall) Rue Froissart 95 – 1040 Bruxelles

Contact persons:
 Eric Walravens, Coordinateur du service Communication du CNCD-11.11.11, Eric.Walravens at cncd.be, 0495/17 60 53.
 Renaud Vivien, Co-secrétaire-général du CADTM Belgique, renaud at cadtm.org, 0491/24 99 01.
 Olivier Stein, avocat, Progress Lawyers Network, olivier.stein at progresslaw.net, 0485/150 138.